The
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the reefs that surround them
provide us with a chance to see what ecosystems in the throughout
the Hawaiian
Islands may have looked like before the arrival of human beings more
than 1500 years ago.

The NWHI is
also home to the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. The majority
of the population of 1,400 seals rely on the protected isles and
reefs for food and breeding grounds.

Other marine mammals like Humpback Whales travel
though the NWHI on their yearly migrations.

The reefs of the NWHI are much more diverse than
those found in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Of the more than
7,000 different species that have been recorded in the Hawaiian
Islands, more than half are only found in the NWHI.